Asst. Chief Larry Stewart of the Tontitown Area Fire Department watches as the building once home to Mary Maestri’s burns to the ground Saturday afternoon.
Photo: Todd Gill, Fayetteville Flyer
The former Mary Maestri’s restaurant at 992 E. Henri De Tonti Blvd., in Tontitown was demolished this weekend to clear the way for a planned shopping center.
The City Church found a temporary home in the building following the closure of Mary Maestri’s.
Todd Gill, Fayetteville Flyer
Fire crews, including members of the Tontitown Area Fire Department, destroyed the building in a controlled burn training exercise which started Saturday morning. By 3 p.m., little remained of the structure.
The 87-year-old restaurant was closed by the state in mid-2010 for delinquent sales tax payments. The building then served as a temporary home to The City Church, which recently found a permanent home in Fayetteville at 2070 N. Garland Ave.
According to a recent report in the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal, Cave Springs businessman Brett Hash plans to build a 30,000-square-foot shopping center called Casalini Court at the site, located at the corner of U.S. Highway 412 and Arkansas Highway 112.
